Pokemon Fanfic With No Title
by Willow Canoli
Summary: Rated T because... you'll see. Professor Rowan's assistant, Lucas, is kidnapped by Team Galactic and the main hero, Willow, has to travel around to save him. Sucky beginning, but just wait...
1. Chapter 1: Starting Point

Chapter 1: Starting Point

I knew I was dreaming, but it didn't really feel like a dream. It felt more like I was floating in a black void, perfectly awake. What's happening? Suddenly, a voice I didn't recognize emitted from nowhere.

"_Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life. You have lived your last normal day, for your story starts now, and will continue forever. Your life will be filled with laughter and strife, friends and enemies, wins and losses, but more importantly, choices. Only you can decide which way you want to go."_

I woke up in my bed, suddenly remembering everything. I was Willow Canoli, resident of Twinleaf town, thirteen years old, and very confused.

_Who was that? What was he talking about? Was it really a dream?_

I would have thought longer, but my mother was calling me for breakfast. I got dressed in my normal, pink and black dress and grabbed my bag. I'm a bit of a tomboy, so I wouldn't call my bag a purse. It serves the same purpose, but my bag isn't a fashion statement as well. I went downstairs, following the smells that were coming from there. My mother making breakfast: bacon and eggs, my favorite. She told me that Stan had come over earlier and was looking for me.

Stan had been my best friend ever since I moved here ten years ago. We had done everything together since then. He's probably the reason I'm so resourceful and quick thinking. He always acts before he thinks and ends up getting in a huge mound of trouble. Of course, I'm always there to bail him out in the end. For example, one time, he ended up floating on a log in the middle of the pond south of town for reasons I won't tell you. I had used a large tree branch to pull him back in to safety. And like that time we got lost in the woods. I looked for landmarks and individual trees to retrace my steps and found our way home. But every day wasn't exactly like this. Some days, Stan would take a trip up to Jubilife city for his karate lessons. His mom was an amateur pokémon trainer, so if they were ever attacked by wild pokémon on the way, she could fight them off. He would always tell me about what happened on the journey with such enthusiasm. But I have always longed to head out on my own. Since we had both been granted permission to leave town as long as we stayed away from tall grass, I could only wonder what type of trouble he was going to get me in now.

I ate my breakfast with haste, leaving the dirty dishes on the table for my mom to clean up. Then I headed out the door and went over to Stan's house. I was right outside his door when he came charging out, his blond hair flying every which way. He blurted out something about going to the lake, and then ran. He appeared to be in a great hurry. He was always in a rush when he was motivated. He had probably made up a new game based on his new favorite show, _The Search for the Red Gyarados _and eager to go. I wondered what we would be doing. He was probably going to end up in the middle of the lake on a log again. I met him at route 201, and then we set off for the lake.

When we arrived, there was a queerly familiar man and a boy about our age just leaving. The man had a stern look on his face, but the boy was looking all around, taking in his surroundings. He looked back over his shoulder at us. He had piercing blue eyes and dark hair, but it was mostly covered by his hat. They turned a corner and were gone, leaving us alone at the lake. That was when Stan noticed that there was something hidden in the tall grass by the shore.

"Come on, let's go see what it is!" Stan suggested. He also had a really short attention span. He couldn't focus on one thing for more than five minutes. He'd probably forgotten all about the red Gyarados. But, once again, he was putting us in danger. My mom had warned me about going into the tall grass. Pokémon could come up out of nowhere and attack you. He said that we would only be in there for a second, and that there wouldn't be enough time for a wild pokémon to attack. I didn't have a comeback, so I went along with him. Why am I friends with Stan? He never treats me very well. It's probably because he's the only other kid my age in Twinleaf town. Anyway, we headed into the grass. All that was there was an aged suitcase. Disappointed, we turned to head back. But suddenly, these Starly came charging out of nowhere in a rage! I was frightened, regretting going into the tall grass, but Stan looked bored.

"Aw, they're just stupid little birds, let's go," he said, ignoring the enraged birds around us. He started to leave, but then the Starly closest to him pecked him in the head. Hard. He cried out in pain, staggering backwards.

"I told you so," I sighed in a singsong voice. "Now what's your plan for getting us out of here?"

"We could swim," he suggested, rubbing his head where he had been pecked.

"Oh no, I am not ruining another pair of perfectly good clothes."

"Or, you could get mauled by a bird," he retorted. I desperately looked around for another way out of this situation. I pushed away a Starly that was beating its tiny wings on me. My eyes fell upon the suitcase that coaxed us out here.

"There!" I cried, pointing at the case. Stan looked over, fending off a Starly of his own. "Look in there for something!"

"But it isn't ours," he groaned, swatting at another Starly. "We can't just go through other people's stuff!"

"Would you–Ow! –Rather go swimming?" I challenged, getting pecked in the head.

"It is hot out…" Stan whimpered, looking longingly at the water lapping at the lakeshore as if tempting him to jump in.

"Open the case!" I nearly yelled. Stan jumped and quickly popped open the case and found three pokéballs within.

_Good! That's just what we need!_

I was happy to find pokéballs for a couple of reasons. One was because now, we didn't have to go swim in the lake, and two, I got to try battling pokémon! I didn't really care that these pokémon weren't ours, I just wanted to get away from the danger. The future, and what trouble this might get me in, didn't really matter to me. I grabbed at one and saw that the label read 'PIPLUP'. I released the latch and a little light blue pokémon emerged in a flash of light. It was small, flightless, birdlike, and had two button-like dots on its chest. Neither of us had any experience battling with pokémon, but we didn't really have a choice. We battled the Starly like there was no tomorrow. It was better than swimming away, probably followed by these enraged Starly. After a long battle, the Starly finally fainted. Stan ended his battle briefly after I did. He had chosen the pokéball that had 'TURTWIG' written on it. The pokémon within looked like a turtle with a leaf on its head.

"Well, that was…eventful," Stan said, kneeling down to scratch the Turtwig under the chin. The Piplup I chose turned around and looked at me, cocking his head to the side as if asking, "Who are _you?_" Just then, the boy that was with the man at the lake earlier came sprinting to where we were.

"The professor left his suitcase here, did you see it?" he asked, out of breath from running. When he saw that we had used the pokémon, he freaked out. He muttered something about the professor being really angry, grabbed the suitcase, and ran before we could return the pokémon we borrowed. We stood alone once again. I looked over to Stan, who shrugged and said we should head back home. I agreed, and off we went.

When I got home, I talked to my mom about what happened at the lake. She said that I should go and apologize to the professor for using his pokémon without permission. I made my way up to Sandgem town, but not after battling many Starly and Bidoof, the residents of the tall grass on route 201. The Piplup I had borrowed was having fun battling all of the pokémon. I felt like I had just made another friend. I really didn't want to give him back now, but he wasn't mine. I had to return him to the professor.

I made the most out of the short time I had with the little Piplup. When I arrived at Sandgem town, the boy was there, waiting. He introduced himself as Lucas, professor Rowan's assistant. He started to lead me inside, but Stan came rushing out.

"Oh, hey Willow! Hey Lucas! Professor Rowan is one crazy geezer. Gotta go, bye!" he blurted, running past us towards Twinleaf town. Lucas and I stood there for a second, bewildered by Stan's hurried behavior.

"No offence, but your friend is a bit of a spazz," said Lucas, breaking the silence.

"No kidding," I laughed. Anyhow, we went inside and Lucas took me to see the professor. I was nervous. I thought he would be angry for using his pokémon without permission, but he shocked me by letting me keep the little Piplup! He said that I had already developed a bond with it, and in my mind, I agreed with him. I named the Piplup Fabio, since he looked like he was wearing a little blue tuxedo. Then professor Rowan surprised me again by asking me to complete a pokédex for him! He wanted me to go across the entire Sinnoh region and seek out every pokémon that lived there. I was grinning when I exited the lab. Lucas suggested I go home and tell my family that I was leaving. I said farewell and headed back home.

When I got to my house and told my mother about leaving, she wasn't that choked up. She gave me a journal, some running shoes, and some other traveling supplies. She gave me a hug and wished me luck. When I turned to leave, Stan's mom walked in the door. She said that Stan had run in, blurted something about leaving, grabbed his bag and shot out the door. He was apparently thrilled about this new mission of ours. She had wanted to give him some supplies before he left, and she said that he was probably headed for Jubilife City.

"It looks like I'm going up to Jubilife city again," she sighed "That is, if I can keep up with him." Suddenly, I had a great idea.

"I'll take it for you!" I offered. "I was planning on going up there anyway."

"Would you really do that?"

"Sure! It's no problem!" I exclaimed, taking the package.

"Thank you Willow! That's really kind of you," she said.

I walked out the door at looked at the package I was supposed to deliver. It was wrapped in paper and tied with string.

_So you left without me Stan? So much for being best friends forever._

I walked out of Twinleaf town for the last time in a long time. I looked back at the town I had been raised in, and then turned away towards the route. And so, my adventure began.


	2. Chapter 2: Cities

Chapter 2: Cities

When I headed out to route 202, I met up with Lucas who was waiting to show me how to catch a pokémon. He showed an example with a wild Bidoof. He lowered its HP by using his own pokémon, and then threw a pokéball at it. The pokéball shook three times, and then clicked to signal that the Bidoof had been caught. It wasn't too interesting, but extremely useful for the future. And after the demonstration, Lucas gave me five pokéballs to try catching pokémon for myself. I caught a Shinx on my first try and named it Luna, but not until Fabio had quite a bit of damage done, so I went back to the pokémon center and refreshed.

There were several trainers that were itching for a battle on route 202, so I went back to the pokémon center often. One time, there was this one really strong and experienced trainer that caused Fabio to faint. But then I remembered that I had caught that Shinx earlier! I sent her out, and she put up quite the fight. But it just wasn't enough. She fainted and I had my first ever blackout. I sprinted back to the pokémon center and healed them. Nurse Joy suggested that I go to the pokémart next door and buy some potions to aid me on my journey. I took her advice, and it served me well. Because the next time I went to the route, I finally made it all the way to Jubilife City.

Jubilife City was huge! I had never left Twinleaf town before. Except for Hearthome city, but that was long before I could remember. So this had been the largest city I had ever seen! The buildings were taller than the tallest tree I had ever seen in the woods. Stan had nearly broken his neck on that tree. The hard pavement was a tremendous contrast from the soft soil paths of little Twinleaf town.

As soon as I started walking down the street, a man came up to me and said that if I got three coupons from these clowns standing around the city, I would get a free pokétch. So I walked around, taking in the immensity of the buildings and looking for the clowns. They were really easy to spot. They were wearing fluorescent mustard-colored suits, standing out from the gray of the streets. They each asked me a simple question, which I answered with ease. They were all simple questions about battling pokémon, which I heard plenty about from Stan's rants. I went back to the man near the entrance of the city, and he gave me the new pokétch. While I was flipping through the new settings on my pokétch, it suddenly struck me.

_I was supposed to deliver the parcel to Stan!_

I thought, in this huge city, where on earth would he be? He'd always wanted to be the greatest trainer ever, just like his dad, so he would probably be at that training school across the street from the pokémon center. I walked in, and there he was, rapidly memorizing everything written on the blackboard. Go figure. I walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and noticed me standing there.

"Hey Willow! I thought you would never make it here!" he said a little loudly for a classroom.

"Your mom wanted to give you this, but you left in such a hurry, she didn't have a chance to," I explained, handing him the package. He tore it open, letting the papers fall to the floor. He ripped open the box and took out two maps of the Sinnoh region.

"Here! I don't need two. You can have one!" he said, thrusting one into my hands. "I memorized everything on the chalkboard, so I'll be ready for anything! I'm going to Oreburgh city to get my first gym badge! You should come too, that is, if you can keep up!" and then he rushed out the door without even saying goodbye. Well that's Stan.

I headed out to route 203, and as soon as I entered, Stan ran up to me.

"Now that we're outside, do you want to have a pokémon battle?" he asked excitedly.

"Do you mean, like now?" I asked, nervously fingering the strap on my bag.

"Yeah, of course!"

"Um… okay," I replied, taking out a pokéball.

"All right!" he cheered. "Prepare to lose!"

"In your dreams!" I laughed playfully. It was his Starly and Turtwig against my Fabio and Luna. I defeated his Starly without much of problem, but when I tried using bubble on his Turtwig, I kept pounding and pounding, but I didn't seem to be getting anywhere! I switched out to Luna, but then I found out that electric moves aren't terribly effective on grass type pokémon. Stan defeated Luna, so I was forced to switch back to Fabio. I kept using bubble without much success. The small damage that I did was immediately healed by Turtwig's move synthesis. I finally used peck as a last resort, and his Turtwig fainted right away! I wrote myself a mental note. _Use flying type moves on grass type pokémon._

Stan was shocked at how tough I had gotten over, what? Two hours? He congratulated me on the win and sped off for the nearest pokémon center.

I continued along, battling trainers and catching any new pokémon that crossed my path. For example, I came across an Abra while wandering through the tall grass of route 203. Before I had a chance to attack, it used teleport and disappeared. At least I had the chance to register it in my pokédex before it fled. I shrugged and continued on my way up the route. I entered the Oreburgh gate, a small tunnel just before entering the city, but not without being interrupted. A hiker walked up and, when he saw my pokéballs, gave me HM06 rock smash. He said that it was a pokémon move that could be used to smash boulders outside of battle. I had never heard of using pokémon moves outside of battle before! He said that it wouldn't work outside of battle unless I had the coal badge, which I could get by defeating the Oreburgh city gym leader, Roark. So I exited the cave and when I emerged, entered Oreburgh city.

When I walked into the city, a boy strolled up to me. He asked if I was here to battle the gym leader. I answered yes, and he said he would show me where it is. I followed, even though I wished he would show me where the pokémon center was. My pokémon were still tired from that battle with Stan. To my surprise, when we got to the gym, Stan walked out! How had he gotten there before me? He probably ran by while I was battling wild pokémon in the grass. He said that the leader had just left, and that he was headed to the Oreburgh mine, south of town. What would a gym leader be doing in a coalmine? I went to the pokémon center to refresh, and then headed into the mine.

I walked into the coal mine and found myself in a dark cavern full of Zubat, coal, and men mining it. It felt dangerous to be in there, even though it probably was safe as could be. I headed around a massive mound of coal, when suddenly, this enormous, fifteen foot tall Onix emerged from the rocky earth with a roar. I sent out Fabio and told him to use bubble. I had learned from the trainer's school that water type pokémon had an advantage against rock type pokémon, so I had nothing much to worry about. Fabio took a deep breath, and…

Ran out of the cave as quickly as his tiny legs would carry him, screaming at the top of his lungs.

I chased him, leaving the stunned Onix behind. I found him cowering behind the Oreburgh mining museum. I tried giving him a little pep talk to build his confidence.

"Come on Fabio! You have the advantage! Look, I'll show you" I told him. I walked up to a boy who was having a water gun fight with a friend. I asked if I could borrow his water gun. He let me, so I headed back to the Oreburgh mine, Fabio by my side. We walked in and the Onix sprung out of the ground again. Fabio tried to run, but I held him back and told him to watch. I pumped up the water gun. Pump pump pump pump pump pump pump. When the pressure was built up as much as it would go, I shot a jet of water at the rock-snake thingy before us. It immediately fainted.

"See?" I told Fabio, "There's nothing to worry about." He seemed more confident now. So I returned the water gun to the slightly soggy boy and continued to search the mine for Roark. I finally found him, chipping away at a heap of coal. I was astounded at how young he was. He only seemed a few years older than me. I knew it was him, because he had a Geodude using rock smash on boulders to help get them out of the way. Everyone else in the mine had their pokémon carry rocks out of the way, and they all probably didn't have the ability to use rock smash. I went up to Roark and asked him how he did that outside of battle.

"It's really quite simple," he answered. "You have to defeat the gym leader, me, and win the coal badge. It's kind of hard, I have to split my time between mine prospector and gym leader. Did you want to battle me?"

I nodded.

"Okay then! I better get going!" And he ran out of the mine.

Knowing that Roark was back, I bought a couple of potions for the upcoming battle. When I exited the pokémon center, Roark walked up to me.

"Hey, would it be okay with you if we do our battle tomorrow? I have a lot I need to do at the mine."

"Oh, yeah. That's fine," I said. "No problem." Now I had some time to cram in a little more training. Before long, it was almost guaranteed that I would win. My only worry was that Stan would get so far ahead of me that I wouldn't be able to catch up. When the first stars were twinkling in the sky, I went over to the Oreburgh city condominiums. That's when I found out that if you have a trainer card with a special stamp on it, you could get a free room for a night at any participating condos across the region. I got the stamp for my card and got the free room. When I woke up the next morning, I was exhilarated for the battle that would be taking place.

But I had no idea what would be taking place as well.


	3. Chapter 3: Into the Fray

Chapter 3: Into the Fray

p

The gym was small as far as I could tell. I knew that some gyms were so big, people would get lost in them. I could see Roark from where I was standing in the doorway. He was way up on a pile of dirt, at the very end of the gym. In-between us were several other piles of dirt that made a winding path to the back. I walked up some stairs, over a bridge, up more stairs, turned a corner, more stairs, and I was standing right in front of him.

p

The battle wasn't that difficult. If I could defeat an Onix with a squirt gun, then this would be a snap, and it was. He had an Onix, a Geodude, and a Cranidos, each of which I defeated with a single bubble attack. All that time I had spent training yesterday had greatly paid off. The Cranidos was a little tougher though; its thick skull protected it from head-on attacks. But I simply came up with a different way to defeat it. When the Cranidos charged at Fabio, he leaped in the air, spun around, and attacked it from there. The bubbles hit it from behind, making it much more effective.

p

I defeated Roark, obtained the coal badge, got the ability to use HM rock smash outside of battle, and to my surprise, Fabio evolved! He turned into a Prinplup, the evolved form of Piplup. It was taller, tougher looking, and Fabio learned bubble beam, which is more powerful than plain old bubble. I was so proud of him.

p

I started to head back to Jubilife city, but then Stan rammed into me from behind and nearly bowled me over. He said hi, told me that the next gym badge is in Eterna city, route 207 is blocked, and the only way to get there is by going up route 203 and through Eterna forest. He was talking so fast, I could barley tell what he was saying. He must have been pretty determined to finish the pokédex before me. Then he bolted through the Oreburgh gate. He didn't even apologize for nearly knocking me over. Again.

p

I went back toward Jubilife city, smashing rocks the whole way, just for the heck of it. As I was smashing rocks, I came across a secret cavern below the Oreburgh gate. There was a large, underground lake hidden from the rest of the world there. I took out an old fishing pole I had made out of a stick and a piece of string back at home, and began to fish. My homemade pole wasn't the strongest in the world, so I had to catch small, light pokémon. However, that meant that the only thing I could catch was Magikarp. I needed to catch one for my pokédex, so I tried lowering it's HP to catch it. But whenever I used one attack at all, it fainted immediately. Eventually, I got bored of fishing and continued on my way back to Jubilife city.

p

I finally arrived at the city and started using the privileges of having a gym badge right away. I was surprised by how much you could do. I used the global trade station, or GTS for short, but there wasn't much to do there. Everyone was asking for things I couldn't even dream of having, and some things that I'd never even heard of. So I headed over to the pokétch company. They gave me a memo pad application for my pokétch as a reward of getting a gym badge.

p

I was walking back up the street, doodling on the memo pad with my stylus, when I saw professor Rowan and Lucas walking towards Jubilife TV. I tucked away the stylus and started to walk towards them. I wanted to show professor Rowan my new gym badge, how much I had filled up my pokédex, and Fabio. I called to get their attention, but they were talking to each other, completely unaware of their surroundings.

p

Suddenly, a rope came flying from behind them and encircled Lucas, pulling him backwards into the air! That was then when I started to run. The professor whipped around, crying Lucas's name. Two Team Galactic grunts were the ones reeling in poor Lucas. The people on the street scrambled to get inside to safety, waiting in the windows to watch the scene. The Galactic grunt that was holding the rope began to speak.

p

"Shoot, I missed. Darn it!" Apparently, he was aiming for professor Rowan! What on earth could they want with him? The other one answered his comrade.

p

"That's okay, I have a plan. Tie his hands and feet."

p

After what seemed like forever, I reached the sight and shouted,

p

"What do you think you're doing? Let him go!" The one that wasn't busy tying up Lucas answered.

p

"We want Rowan's research! It's absolutely vital that we return without failing our mission. You give us the data and we'll give you your friend back."

p

"Never!" I shouted, "I challenge you to a pokémon battle!" And I sent out Fabio, spurring us into a battle. But I found out that both Fabio and Luna had several weaknesses… the hard way. Fabio's HP was getting low, so I reached into my bag to get a potion. My hand only met the bottom of the healing items pocket.

p

_I Okay, it looks like I'm going to have to do this the hard way. /I_

_p_

I switched out Fabio and replaced him with Luna. She hadn't received any extra training before the gym battle because Electric type moves aren't remarkably effective on rock-ground type pokémon. She fainted after only a few turns. I switched her out again. Fabio was still weak from battling before, and he didn't last long. I regretted not catching any more pokémon earlier.

p

"Is that all you've got Rowan? A mere child defending you? Well, you better rethink resisting us. We'll get that data, mark my words," said one of the Grunts. He motioned for his comrade to leave, grabbed Lucas, and started to drag him away. Panicking, Lucas shouted,

p

"Willow, you have to save me!" The grunt hit him and told him to shut up. He looked at me with his piercing blue eyes, and then sighed and let his head nod in exasperation. They turned and left my sight, leaving me with the image of his eyes burned into my head.

p

That was when I knew that my life was never going to be the same.

p

I was stunned. I had lost the battle and they didn't release Lucas. It wasn't going to be that easy. I had no idea of the enormous challenge that rose before me. That was when realized that the street was silent. Everyone must have gone inside to avoid the commotion. But when I turned around, my stomach lurched. A thousand pairs of eyes stared back at me. It looked like everyone and their brother had shown up to watch the show. I had always had a touch of stage fright, so I was feeling quite uncomfortable. Not putting into account that I felt like I had just been punched in the stomach. I still couldn't believe what had just happened.

p

The crowd started to diminish, but a few stayed and told me how they were sorry for me. That's the last thing you want when you've been hurt, people coming up and being sympathetic. All you want to do is sit in a corner and cry away all of the sorrows. People always want to do something to help, even if they have no idea what's wrong. Soon, all that was left was the professor and a camera crew from Jubilife TV packing up.

p

_I Great. This is going to be on TV._ _People everywhere are going to be watching me. Maybe even my mom, and Lucas's mom, and everyone from Twinleaf and Sandgem town. Will anyone ever look at me in the same way again? /I_

p

Professor Rowan walked up to me and sadly said,

p

"That was really brave of you Willow. I couldn't have done that, even if I were your age." Just then, Stan came rushing up to us in a panic. He asked, out of breath,

p

"What's going on? I just heard from someone that–"

p

"Lucas was kidnapped by Team Galactic. Yes, the stories are true. Willow here battled to save him, but they took him away." Rowan interrupted, a sad tone to his voice.

p

"That's terrible!" replied Stan. "I'll go save him!" he shouted, running completely in the opposite direction of where the Galactic grunts set off in. He had always jumped to conclusions, springing into action before he had enough information on what to do. We stared at him as he ran towards Canalave city, a complete dead end. Anyone without the ability to use HM surf outside of battle would be forced to turn back.

p

"He doesn't stand a chance," sighed the professor, shaking his head. "Willow, it's absolutely vital that you rescue Lucas," he said, turning to me. "Just before he was taken, I trusted him with the information that Team Galactic wanted. I downloaded it onto his pokédex. If they get a hold of that data, who knows what they could do?"

p

Now that got me worried. They could get some serious power from that data, and now it was in their hands. The only good thing was that they had no idea they had the data, so there might be a chance to recover it before it was too late. But it still hurt, because I knew how Lucas was feeling. He knew that he had what they wanted. But now that he was their captive, he was at their complete mercy. If they even got a hint that he had the information, then it would all be over. I had to get him free as soon as possible. I bid professor Rowan farewell and set off to rescue Lucas. No matter how hard it may be, or how far away he may seem,

p

I will find him.

p

For a continuation of this Fanfiction, please go to

.com/art/Chapter-4-Trip-to-Mars-90878407

srry, I'm to lazy to update any more. ^^;


	4. Chapter 4: Trip to Mars

Chapter 4: Trip to Mars

"Are you sure that this was a good idea?"

"I hope so. If Mars doesn't think so, we could get in some serious trouble."

The two grunts walked through the woods toward the Valley Windworks, dragging poor Lucas behind them. He could feel his pokédex digging into his side through his pocket, as if it were reminding him of the terrible situation he had been dragged into. The two grunts hadn't seemed to notice.

"Can't you drag him for a while?" complained the grunt that was holding Lucas.

"Hey! Stop complaining! We're almost there."

_Almost where?_

They emerged from the woods just south of a small valley that was dappled with wind turbines. Inside was the wind farm that had been taken over by Team Galactic. They dragged Lucas up to the front door where a Galactic grunt was standing guard.

"We need to see Mars now!" shouted one of the grunts.

"What did you guys do?" asked the guard, leaning over so he could see Lucas behind them.

"We'll explain once we talk to Mars," said the other grunt. "This is urgent!"

"Okay, fine," agreed the guard, stepping out of the way so the grunts could get through. "But I don't like this."

They walked through the door into the Valley Windworks. The guard watched as his comrades dragged Lucas through the door and down the hallway to the back.

"Mars! We need to talk!" called one of the grunts as he entered the back room.

"Did you get that data like you were ordered?" she asked, standing up from her chair.

"Well, no. But we got something else," replied the grunt that was holding Lucas. He pulled Lucas forward with a heave and threw him onto his stomach in front of Mars. She stared at him trembling on the floor.

"How is this kid going to help?" she asked, her voice barley faltering.

"This is professor Rowan's assistant. We're holding him ransom until they willingly give us the data."

Mars paused for a moment, taking in her employee's plan. She seemed impressed. "I'm surprised you came up with that yourselves. Good job," she said. Then she began to laugh an evil, witch-like laugh that echoed throughout all of the Valley Windworks. Lucas felt very, very small and vulnerable, but more so scared.

"Put him in the corner. Then we'll see if someone comes to rescue him. I have to go make some phone calls," Mars commanded, walking to the phone on the other side of the room. The two grunts propped Lucas up against the back wall and left shortly after. Mars sat down and began to punch a number into the phone. Lucas sat there watching her.

"Hello? Galactic headquarters?… Yes, this is Mars. I need to talk to Cyrus immediately… I don't care if he's in a meeting, this is urgent!"

_Who's Cyrus? Her boss?_

" …Cyrus? This is Mars… No, I don't have the data, but I have something–or someone–else… two of my people went to get the data, and they came back with a kid. They said that they're holding him ransom for the data… I know! I can't believe they came up with that themselves…"

Suddenly, there was shouting coming from down the hall. "Oh, hold on a sec," said Mars, putting Cyrus on hold.

"What do you think you're doing? Let me go! My daughter is still out there…"

Two grunts came into the room. The one that was shouting was a man that they had captured. His hair was flying in all different directions and his glasses were crooked on his face. He glanced over at Lucas in alarm. The sight of another prisoner only induced his panic. They pushed him into the room, holding his arms behind his back.

"We got that scientist you asked for. He was right outside!" said one of the grunts, struggling to keep the man's arms down.

"Good, put him down over there," said Mars, pointing at a chair with a computer on the other side of the room. The two grunts forced the struggling man over to the chair and forced him to sit down. Mars walked over and started to talk to him. Even though she wasn't yelling, her voice had intimidating authority. Lucas watched as the man listened to his new orders, trembling in fear. There was an essence of fear in his eyes.

"Now get to work!" Mars barked. He jumped and turned to the computer, immediately typing away. She walked back to the phone and continued her conversation with Cyrus.

"Are you still there? …Good. Now what should I do with this kid? … Mm-hm… Okay, take the kid to Eterna City in case of emergency. Got it. All right, Bye." She shut off the phone and walked out of the room. Lucas could still feel the pokédex pressed against his side. He knew that he couldn't let them have it, even if it meant he had to sacrifice his freedom. But how long could he keep it a secret?

_Willow, you better hurry._

I marched up route 204. It was a bright, sunny route, but I didn't seem to notice. A gray, imaginary cloud loomed over me, fading the real sunshine. Only one thing was on my mind, and it wasn't about to leave.

The whole route was cut in half by the ravaged path, an enormous cavern I had to pass through to get to the upper level of the route. I smashed rocks out of the way, letting out some of my suppressed anger. The pokémon at the upper end of the route were much stronger than the ones on the lower level, so I had my work cut out for me. I eventually reached the end of route 204, and that was when my mood finally changed.

I had just entered Floaroma town. Everywhere I looked, there were thousands of flowers. The air smelled like an explosion of aromas. It brightened up my mood. A little.

I saw two Galactic grunts standing at the very edge of the meadow. They must have felt pretty girly standing in a flower meadow.

_He must be here_

I headed to route 205, but in the middle, there was a little girl crying and two Galactic grunts standing on a bridge. I walked up to the little girl, and she said that Team Galactic had taken her father into the Valley Windworks. That only made me even angrier than I already was. I promised her that I would save her dad, even though I wasn't totally confident with myself.

I walked up to the two grunts on the bridge, but the only thing they would say is that they are conducting an experiment in Eterna forest, and that no one was allowed to pass. I headed over to the Valley Windworks, a power plant that collected electricity from the many wind turbines on the surrounding hills. It had enough energy to power several surrounding towns. Now Team Galactic had that power, and I had no idea what they were going to do with it. I didn't care; I was going to stop them.

I walked up to the guard in front of the door and demanded entry. He refused, and instead, I had to battle him. I won without any trouble at all. This only made him angry, so he went within Valley Windworks and locked the door from the inside. I tugged at the doorknob, making sure that it was completely bolted. It was. Oops.

I dismally headed back to Floaroma town, making sure to avoid the little girl who was still sitting in the road. When I got to town, I heard a commotion at the meadow to the north. I went up there, and when I arrived, there were the two Galactic grunts that were there earlier. They were threatening an elderly man, trying to steal honey from him so they could attract rare pokémon. Go figure. Team Galactic is always selling rare pokémon for funding.

It reminded me of another old man they were trying to muscle into giving them something…

I yelled at them to stop it, engaging myself in a battle easily won. When the grunts went running, I turned back to the old man. He thanked me and offered me some honey. I bought some, but then I noticed something on the ground. It was a key to the Valley Windworks! Key and honey in hand, I headed back to route 205.

After breaking in, the guard spotted me and freaked out.

"How did you get in here? I thought I locked the door! Where did you get that key?" he yelled. Then he took off before I could answer all his questions, or at least battle him again to make him shut up.

I made my way through the maze-like power plant, hiding from grunts so they wouldn't notice me. I wanted to savor my pokémon's health in case I had to battle for Lucas's freedom. I finally arrived at the back room, and there was Lucas and the girl's father! The man was ferociously working away on the computer, an essence of fear in his eyes. Lucas was sitting in the corner, still tied up. He looked up to me, mouthing my name silently. But standing between them and me was a woman with short red hair, wearing a Team Galactic uniform. This could only mean trouble.

She introduced herself as Mars, one of the three Team Galactic commanders. I demanded their freedom, but instead, she challenged me to a pokémon battle and struck me a bargain.

"If you win, we'll leave. But if I win, you'll leave and never come back. Deal?" I accepted and sent out Fabio.

Her Zubat wasn't much of a problem, I had been fighting those all night. But the real problem was when she sent out her Purugly. It was a ferocious battler, and following a long, grueling battle, each of us was left with only three HP each. I had a choice to make, either give Fabio a potion and miss a turn, or take the risk of attacking, missing, and then fainting. I let the battle rest in fate's hands and attacked. It hit, and I won the battle. She returned her Purugly, and then said,

"Fine! You won, but next time, you won't be so lucky!" she grabbed Lucas and headed out the door.

"Hey!" I protested. "Did you forget our deal?"

"You give us the data, we give you your friend. I know the deal. Fair's fair," she scoffed.

But it was far from fair, not even close. I had won the battle!

"Unless, do you have the data we want?" she asked.

"Well, no. I mean…"

I looked over to Lucas. He looked back at me with those eyes again. It was almost like he was saying – no – pleading me not to tell. If they found out that he had the data anyway, there was a good chance that they would never release him.

"No," I sighed.

"Well, I'll be leaving then," she said, turning around and continuing her way out. I watched helplessly as Lucas was dragged out the back door. I clenched my hands into fists, holding myself back from running after her.

"Go to Eterna city! Eterna city!" Lucas cried, struggling in Mars's grip. But then Mars kicked him with one of her high-heels. His eyes clenched shut in pain, holding back tears. He looked at me with those same, sad eyes, and disappeared behind the door.

I walked over to the man, still ferociously working away, and told him that Team Galactic was gone. Saying that, I reminded myself that along with Team Galactic, Lucas was gone as well. I helped him up from his chair. He thanked me graciously, and said that Team Galactic had him working nonstop, working on getting enough energy to create some great object.

Just then, the little girl from route 205 ran in and gave her dad a big hug. At least some of this story had a happy ending. She thanked me, and then told me about this balloon-like pokémon that appeared in front of the plant every Friday. It would probably help with filling out my pokédex. I said goodbye and left the plant. I ran back to the pokémon center, remembering that Fabio was just barley conscious. Afterwards, I walked back to route 205 slowly, going over the events that had just transpired.

I walked over the bridge now that team evil was gone. I wandered into the tall grass, immediately attacked by a wild pokémon. I fought back, but then I realized that these pokémon were stronger then the ones I had encountered before. I struggled through the route, only stopping to rest in a house that night, restoring my pokémon and myself.


	5. Chapter 5: Lucky

Chapter 5: Lucky

"Defeat me, will you? Well, let's see if you ever get your friend back," grumbled Mars as she angrily dragged Lucas outside. She walked up to a red convertible parked in the back and threw Lucas in the back. He landed facedown on the sleek leather seat. She jumped in the driver's seat and started the car. Lucas struggled to sit back up again. He got up just in time to see the back of the Valley Windworks speeding away from him. He turned around and saw Mars speeding down a path into the woods.

"And because of your little outburst, your friend knows where we're headed. Thanks a lot."

They sped through the woods until they arrived at cliff that had a waterfall tumbling down from its greatest heights. The earth rumbled from the thousands of gallons of water pouring down. Mars didn't seem to slow down at all. There was an outcrop of land that ended right before the waterfall in a jump. Mars shifted the car into a higher gear.

_What is she doing?!_

As the car drove onto the stretch of land, it was picked up on a sensor. A giant metal plate emerged from the waterfall that parted the water, exposing a tunnel that lead into the cliff. The car shot forward and over the jump, going right into the tunnel. It landed with a jolt that smashed Lucas's head against the back of the seat. He cried out in pain and fell back onto the seat. He watched as the ceiling of the tunnel rushed by above him as they wound farther and farther into the earth. Mars blew her horn in a signal to whoever was at the end of the tunnel.

Finally, they emerged from the dark tunnel and into a dimly lit trucking yard. Mars hit the breaks and sent Lucas catapulting to the floor of the backseat. She blew the horn again and called over a grunt.

"Get the kid in the backseat up to Jupiter and tell her that I'll call from headquarters," she commanded the grunt. Lucas slowly sat up to look around. Before he could even take a glance, the door behind him opened and he was dragged out onto the floor. The convertible sped away as soon as he was out. Lucas pulled his feet back to avoid getting run over. The car sped away and into a tunnel next to the one they had entered in.

Lucas was dragged through a room that was used for packaging goods and shipping them. But they weren't normal goods, they were pokémon. They were placed inside of large cardboard boxes with doubled up sides so they couldn't be broken easily. The outside was stamped with the words 'Fragile' and 'this end up' and 'Caution. Live'. The pokémon they put into the boxes were given a sleeping drug so they wouldn't try to escape.

_What a terrible thing to do._

Lucas was dragged into an elevator on the other side of the packaging room. It ascended up into the building. Lucas squeezed his hands into fists to try and get the circulation in his hands going again. Finally, the doors opened and Lucas was dragged into another room.

"Jupiter! I have something for you from Mars!" shouted the grunt that was dragging Lucas. He shoved Lucas against the wall in order to display him. Jupiter was taller than Mars, and she had pink hair that was tied up in a bun. She leaned over to look Lucas right in the face.

"Who on earth is this?" she demanded from the grunt.

"Mars said that she would call you from headquarters," he responded.

"Well she better hurry up. It's getting late," Jupiter complained impatiently, standing back up and walking across the room. The grunt reentered the elevator and exited back to the trucking yard. Lucas watched as Jupiter paced the room, waiting for the phone to ring. Every once in a while, she would steal a glance at him, each one sending a shiver down his spine.

After what seemed like hours, the phone finally rang. Jupiter picked it up before the first ring was finished.

"Mars? Is that you?… who is this kid that you dumped on my doorstep?… uh-huh… yeah… oh… okay, I get it. I'll keep an eye on him… all right, bye," and she hung up. She turned back to Lucas, who immediately tensed up at her gaze.

"So, it looks like we have a hostage situation on our hands," she uttered with a cruel smile. Then she began to laugh just like Mars had. Lucas squeezed his eyes shut, trying to rid the cruel noise from his head.

"Well, I hope you have a nice night. I'm going to sleep in a nice warm bed, and you're going to sleep where you're sitting. That is, if you get any sleep at all. Goodnight!" she said cruelly, walking out of the room and shutting off the light.

The only light that shone into the large, dark room was coming from the outside. Lucas inched over to the window to try and see out. He leaned against the wall and pushed up with his legs until he was almost standing. He looked down on the city lights below. Skyscrapers blocked his view so he couldn't see farther than the city limits. The streetlamps shone down on the streets and lit them up so the people could see where they were walking.

_Those people are lucky. Lucky to be free._

He sighed and slid back down to the floor. Never before had Lucas felt envy, and now he was feeling it for something he had all his life until now. Being able to just walk free in the streets was a privilege he wouldn't have for a long time. He inched back to the space against the wall where he was before and lay down.

_Why me? Why did that grunt have to catch me? Why did professor Rowan give me the information that would free me, just minutes before I was kidnapped? I'm so afraid._

He shivered on the cold, vinyl floors, thinking about how much he had gone through that day. His stomach growled; he hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast, and he was starving. His mind wandered, until it found Willow.

_I shouldn't worry. Willow is going to save me. Willow is going to save me. Willow is going to save me._

He kept telling himself that until he drifted off to sleep.

Apparently, I had been talking in my sleep, because when I woke up the next morning, the owner of the house said that I had mumbled something about Team Galactic and someone called Lucas in my sleep. I told her about the previous events, holding back tears. To my surprise, she said,

"Oh yeah! I saw that on the news! You were that person?"

I nodded.

In the back of my head, I was thinking about that news crew back in Jubilife city.

"Wow! I can't believe you're sitting in my house! You should take this." She handed me an experience share, a terrifically helpful tool that can give pokémon experience points without the risk of battling. "Come back here anytime you want, okay?" I agreed, said goodbye, and continued on my way.


	6. Chapter 6: Eterna Forest

Chapter 6: Eterna Forest

I entered Eterna forest and saw someone standing there, looking into the shady, leafy tunnel that lay ahead. Even though she looked about my age, she was a good foot taller than me. Her hair had a greenish tint and was in a braid that led all the way to the ground. She turned around when she noticed my entry.

"Are you going to Eterna City?" she asked me, looking frantic.

"Yes," I answered.

"Will you please travel with me then? There have been rumors about extremely strange pokémon that have been appearing in Eterna forest, and I'm too scared to go in alone."

"Sure, why not?" I replied after thinking for barley a second. It would be nice to have someone to talk to instead of festering in my own emotions.

"Oh good," she sighed. "I'll keep your pokémon healthy with all these berries I have," she explained, opening her bag a little to show that it was packed full of berries. "And my Chansey can keep you healed during the battle too."

"Um… if you have all these ways of healing pokémon, then why are you so scared to go in the forest alone?" I wondered. If she had all these methods of healing herself, then why worry?

"I should explain. Come, let's get a move on" she said, gesturing towards the forest. "By the way, I'm Cheryl."

"I'm Willow," I responded.

"Okay, so I'm headed to Eterna city because my parents are worried about me. I usually work as a flower arranger in Floaroma Town, and I come through here alone all the time. But when my parents heard about Team Galactic kidnapping that boy in Jubilife city, they wanted me to come home straight away."

"Yeah… about that…" I said, pushing aside a branch and holding it so it wouldn't hit Cheryl in the face when it came swinging back.

"What?" she inquired, taking the branch so I could continue on.

"I was there," I mumbled.

"You saw Team Galactic kidnap him?" she questioned disbelievingly.

"More than that," I added. "He's my friend. His name is Lucas."

"What happened?" she demanded, listening in awe.

"Well, to start from the beginning, I was walking down the street in Jubilife city, when I saw Lucas and professor Rowan walking towards me. Just then, this rope came from behind and snatched Lucas. I ran, and when I got there, there were these two Galactic grunts tying him up. They said that they needed some research that professor Rowan was conducting. Of course, we couldn't give it to them."

"Why not?"

"If Team Galactic had gotten the data, then they could do some serious damage with the power it produced. Instead, I had a pokémon battle to free him."

"Did you win?"

"Well… no," I sighed. "They took him away."

"That's terrible!" she exclaimed.

"I know, and that's not even the worst part."

"How can this get any worse?"

"Well," I said, looking around for anyone that might hear. I dropped my voice to a whisper. "That data that they wanted,"

She nodded.

"It was on Lucas's pokédex. But they don't know. If I can manage to get it from him before it's too late, it could save lives."

"No way!" she exclaimed a little louder than I would have liked.

"Shush! We can't let anyone to know!"

"Sorry!" she said quickly. "It just that I can't believe you did that!"

"It's not the end. There's more."

"More? How could there be more?" I began to tell her about how I traveled up to Floaroma town when we came across a little clearing. There was a clear stream that ran by a mossy, sun-dappled clearing.

"Hey, do you want to stop for lunch?" I suggested. It was getting late in the day, and the only thing I had eaten all day was a granola bar for breakfast. I was famished, and I was sure Cheryl was too.

"Sure! I'm starving," she said. "And I brought enough for two."

We sat down on the padded ground and began to eat the lunch that Cheryl had brought. It was a dainty package wrapped in paper and tied with string, and inside was an all-natural meal made out of vegetables and berries. Personally, I liked meat. But this was the best thing I had eaten in a long time.

"Hey, what is that doing here?" said Cheryl, pointing across the stream at the clearing on the other side. A Lopunny was bounded into the clearing and paused, sniffing the ground. I whipped out my pokédex and it told me a description.

Lopunny: the rabbit pokémon. Lopunny is an extremely cautious Pokémon. It cloaks its body with its fluffy ear when it senses danger.

"You don't usually see those around here. I come through here all the time, and I've never seen one. I wonder what caused it to evolve," Cheryl added. Suddenly, there was a flash of light through the woods ahead.

"What was that?" I wondered.

"I don't know, but I don't like it. Let's go find out," said Cheryl, getting up and walking across a bridge that crossed the stream. I slid the remainder of my lunch into my bag and took off after her. Our sudden movement spooked the Lopunny, sending it bounding into the woods. After traveling through the woods for a short time, we came across another clearing. There were two people standing in it, and they appeared to be doing something quite scientific. One was working on a laptop and the other was giving what looked like some sort of experimental food to a Silcoon.

All of a sudden, a flash of light came from the Silcoon. I shielded my eyes until it passed. When I looked back, the Silcoon had evolved into a Beautifly.

"Did you get a reading on that one?" asked the one that had the food.

"Give it a minute, it's loading," said the other.

"Fine. Then we can get rid of this one," muttered the other, releasing the Beautifly back into the wild. That was when I noticed the symbol that was on the lid of the laptop.

It was a sickly familiar slanted 'G'.

"That's Team Galactic!" I whispered to Cheryl. "They're doing some sort of research with the evolution of pokémon, from the looks of it."

"They can't do that! It'll upset the balance of the forest!" she murmured back. "We have to stop them!"

We stepped out of the woods and into the clearing where the two scientists were conducting their experiment. They looked up at the sight of us.

"What do you think you're doing?" Cheryl interrogated like a mother who just caught their kid doing something they shouldn't have.

"Oh, just a simple experiment with the evolution of pokémon. Nothing harmful," replied one of the scientists.

"But it can be harmful to the environment if you release pokémon back into the wild! If the levels of pokémon differ too much, it can really upset the forest's natural balance!" she cried.

"Since when does that matter? We don't care," scoffed the one at the computer. "All that matters is that we're getting paid."

"Well we're going to stop you!" I interrupted.

"And how are you planning to do that?" asked the other scientist. I took out a pokéball.

"Get ready to battle!" I exclaimed.

I was probably lucky that the Galactic scientists had pokémon with them. If they hadn't, then I probably would have looked like an idiot. But they had decided to keep some of the pokémon that they evolved. However, that produced a problem for us. Pokémon that evolve naturally have more improved stats than their previous forms. So these pokémon that the scientists had seemed to have enhanced strength. However, whenever my pokémon was injured in battle, Cheryl's Chansey would heal it up. I sent out Luna so she could get in on the free experience points. When the battle was over, Luna evolved! She turned into a Luxio, the evolved form of Shinx.

"Whoa! I got a huge reading on that one!" gasped the scientist with the laptop.

"Do you think that maybe the type of pokémon affects the amount of energy it gives off, or maybe the bond between pokémon and trainer?" the other wondered.

"Will you just get out of here?" I shouted at them. They quickly gathered up their supplies and dashed out of the forest. Once again, everything was at peace in the Eterna forest.

"So… you said that there was more to your story," mumbled Cheryl.

"Oh yeah," I sighed, beginning to walk again. "Well, I walked up route 204 until I came to Floaroma town. I saw these Galactic personnel on the edge of the meadow and knew that he had to be there somewhere. I went over to the Valley Windworks and tried to get in, but I ended up getting locked out. So I went back to the meadow and saw that those two grunts from before were harassing an old man. I helped him out by defeating them, and that's when I noticed that they had dropped a key to the Valley Windworks. So I went back and broke in. I snuck to the back and there was Lucas, tied up in the corner."

"What happened?" asked Cheryl eagerly.

"There was a Team Galactic commander standing in the way, and I had to fight her. I nearly lost, but I won anyway. She started dragging Lucas out the door, when he suddenly started shouting 'Go to Eterna City!' So that's where I'm going." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes from the reminder. For the rest of the walk, we didn't talk about anything that had to do with Team Galactic.

Hours had gone by, and it seemed like we were finally making some significant progress. We walked by a crumbling wooden building that looked like at one point it was of grand majesty, but no longer.

"That's the Old Chateau," Cheryl explained, noticing my interest in the decrepit building. "It's long abandoned, but lots of people think it's haunted. I think that's all a bunch of nonsense. The good news is that we're almost out of the forest." And she was right. When we turned the bend, I could see the way out of this endless leafy tunnel.

"Oh! I'm so relieved we finally got here," Cheryl sighed. She turned to me "I hope you find your friend!" We said adieu and we parted. The sun was beginning to set, so I had to get a move on. I headed over a bridge, covered with fishermen and their catches, and entered the place I was hoping to get to in the end. Eterna city.


	7. Chapter 7: Roommates

Chapter 7: Roommates

That entire day, Lucas sat against that wall, just watching Jupiter go on with her day. He had been untied once that day so he could eat, heavily guarded the whole time. Other than that, nothing had happened for the whole day. He was incredibly bored.

"Hey Jupiter! We're bringing someone up to see you! He said something about a Clefairy," called a voice from the other side of an intercom.

"All right, bring him up, and be prepared," Jupiter said back into it. "Well, from the looks of it, I think you're going to have a roommate," said Jupiter with an evil smile.

_Oh no! What is she going to do?_

The person they were talking about came up the stairs a few minutes later, followed by two Team Galactic grunts. He had sandy hair, and he looked two or three years older than Lucas. Jupiter stood in Lucas's way so the boy couldn't see him.

"So, you came about a Clefairy, did you?" Jupiter asked the boy.

"I did. You stole it from my father, and now he wants it back," he answered coolly, not aware of the danger he was in.

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" Jupiter asked again.

"Well, I'll probably…" muttered the boy, but he trailed off as he leaned over and made eye contact with Lucas. "Hey! Isn't the kid from Jubilife city? The one that was kidnapped?" Jupiter stepped out of the way so everyone could stare at him. Lucas felt very uncomfortable with the whole room staring at him.

"Oh dear, it looks like we have a little witness now," said Jupiter with a smile. Realizing what was about to happen, Lucas tried to warn the boy.

"Run! Run while you still can!" he cried out. But it was too late. The two grunts were already tying his hand behind his back.

"What? No! What are you doing? Stop!" the boy protested. The grunt tied his hands and feet together and threw him against the wall next to Lucas. He smashed his head against the wall, but lashed back and started to yell at Jupiter. "You can't do this to me! You'll never get away with this!"

"And what are you going to do to stop me?" said Jupiter with an attitude.

The boy didn't say anything, but he was in a boiling rage.

"I couldn't care less about you or your father's Clefairy. It's probably already in Veilstone City already. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some paperwork to do," said Jupiter, turning and leaving the room.

"Do you hear me? You'll never get away with this! My father won't let this happen!" he continued shouting.

"Oh, give it a rest," Lucas sighed, slumping down against the wall.

"Give it rest?! I can't! They can't get away with this!" he yelled at him.

"No one can hear you. The best thing you can do is just be quiet so they don't lock you away somewhere."

The boy stared at him for a few seconds. He had seemed to calm down a bit, but he was still panicking.

"So, you're Lucas, aren't you?" asked the boy.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"You've been a hostage for how long?"

"Nearly a day. It's miserable,"

"Oh, that just makes me feel so much better," the boy moaned. "By the way, I'm Kyle."

"Nice to meet you. If only we met under other circumstances."

"Why aren't you freaking out like I was?"

"Well, I think that someone is coming to save me."

"Really? Who?"

Lucas sighed. "They tried and failed to rescue me twice before. But knowing her, I don't think she would give up easily."

"What happened down in Jubilife City?"

Lucas hesitated before answering. "I was walking through the streets of Jubilife city with my mentor, professor Rowan. He's been doing some research about the evolution of pokémon, and how it might give off some energy. Apparently, Team Galactic wanted some of that power. So they came out of nowhere and kidnapped me, holding me ransom until professor Rowan gave them the data. My friend Willow fought to save me, but she lost. They took me to the Valley Windworks and held me there until Willow came to try and rescue me again. She won the battle, but she didn't have the data that they wanted. So they threw me in the back of a car and drove me here."

"Wow. That all happened in one day?" Kyle questioned, wide-eyed.

Lucas nodded.

"Oh man," Kyle groaned, hitting the back of his head against the wall.

They sat in silence for a while, until Jupiter came back in.

"Oh good, the new kid quieted down," she said with a cruel smile. Kyle gritted his teeth. Jupiter chuckled at his rage. "Well, I don't know what we're going to do with you. We'll probably get rid of you when we get the other kid out of here. At least, depending on how you define 'get rid of'."

They both gasped in horror.

"There is a river just outside of town…" she muttered to herself, walking back out of the room. Kyle was breathing heavily now, horrified at what Jupiter just said.

"I am so sorry," Lucas blurted out.

"It's… it's not your fault," Kyle said, still struck with horror.

"If you hadn't seen me, then you wouldn't be here."

"No, if my father hadn't sent me to get his Clefairy back, then I wouldn't be doomed," Kyle snarled, angrily emphasizing the word 'father'. "He's such a coward. He just sits in his bike shop all day and doesn't stand up to anything."

They sat in silence longer, watching Team Galactic go on with their work. The Galactic Eterna building was as busy as a beehive. The personnel had to worry about shipping pokémon to Veilstone city as well as watching their two hostages.

Before long, it was dark outside again. Jupiter shut off the lights and went to bed. But a couple hours into the night, she came back in to get some papers she forgot to mail. Even when she flicked on the lights, the two boys didn't wake up. They were leaning against the wall, their heads bowed in sleep. They seemed so peaceful.

_Look at that. Even when I threatened to kill him, he finds a way to sleep. And the other kid; he's so calm even when he's in so much danger._

She shook her head and corrected her thoughts.

_What am I doing? Feeling pitiful? I can't do that! It's my job to be cruel!_

She took another look at them, smiling slightly.

_And yet…_

She left the room and shut of the light, leaving the two boys in darkness once again.

Eterna city is sort of a mixed city. There are some ancient buildings and some very new ones. An ancient, shrine-like statue stood next to an enormous skyscraper, each trying to outshine each other for the title of 'Eterna city's tallest building'. Among them was the intimidating tower on the north of town with spikes on its sides.

The Galactic Eterna building.

_Lucas_

I approached it, staring at the very top, only until a tall woman with long, blond hair interrupted me. She seemed strangely familiar, like I had seen her on a TV show. She introduced herself as Cynthia and said she knew that I was gathering information for professor Rowan's pokédex.

"You need HM01 cut to get in there," she said, pointing at the trees blocking the entrance of the Galactic Eterna building. It looked like they had been purposely planted there to prevent people from getting inside. "Here, you can have mine," and then she gave it to me! "To use cut outside of battle, you need to get the forest badge from the gym in the southern area of town. Good luck!" Then she walked away.

Where was she getting her information? Probably from the news again. Whatever, not important. Right now, I had some serious training to do in order to get ready for the gym and saving Lucas. I strolled to the pokémon center and restored. Then I headed east to the field on route 211 for training.


	8. Chapter 8: Two New Members

Chapter 8: Two New Members

The training field sat atop of a cliff that tumbled down into a raging river. I was training away, battling every pokémon I could see, when something came along that I had never seen before.

It looked like a horse, except for the fact that it's mane and tail were made of flames. According to my pokédex, it was a Ponyta. I approached him and began to fight. I had to use Luna, the Shinx I had caught back on route 202 so I could lower its hp enough to catch it. If I had used Fabio, he would have knocked it out in one hit, knowing that water type pokémon have a great advantage against fire type pokémon. Like that time that Stan lit a bush on fire by accident and we had to douse it with water to avoid burning the whole town down. After paralyzing the Ponyta and bringing its HP down to almost nothing, I threw a pokéball at it. But I didn't throw just any old pokéball at it; I threw a premiere ball. It had the same efficiency as a pokéball, but it was shiny and silver. I had gotten it when I bought ten pokéballs at the pokémart. The premiere ball shook three times and closed. I had caught it! I named him Cole and headed back to Eterna city.

On the way there, I noticed a little fishpond on the side of the path. After fishing a while with my old fishing rod, I had caught a female Magikarp, which I named Mo. Magikarp are totally useless, but if you train them enough, they evolve into something elegant and powerful. I put the experience share I had gotten on route 205 on her head and continued on my way.

As I walked back to the center of town, I looked up at the Galactic Eterna building. The lights were all lit, the people inside working away at their nefarious schemes.

_I wonder where Lucas is… Well, I'll find out tomorrow, when I beat the gym and break in._

I continued walking, only imagining what the future might hold. I slept in a free room in the condominiums that night. In the morning, I headed out to the gym, ready to begin this challenging day.

I headed the gym, several potions in hand, along with some antidotes, paralyze heals, and all the other various other status healers that they sold at the pokémart. You can never tell what grass type pokémon are going to do to you. I entered the gym, and found myself in a small lobby. I walked up to the door, but standing in the way was Gardenia the gym leader, and she told me that I needed to battle four other trainers before I was able to battle her. They were all hiding in various places, each one giving a clue about where the next one was hiding. Then she wished me good luck and entered the gym.

It was like walking into Eterna forest all over again. The whole thing was a maze of trees! The ceiling was clear, exposing the blue sky outside. I wandered around until I found a girl sitting on a rock, twirling her hair. I walked up to her and she immediately jumped up and challenged me to battle. I started battling, but it was tough to do with bubble beam. But then I remembered my battle with Stan.

_Use flying-type moves on grass type pokémon._

I directed Fabio to use peck, and her Budew immediately fainted. I kept pecking my way through the forest, and to my new forest badge. Cole also helped, but he didn't like me that much because I had just caught him. So Cole was kind of a 'secondary' pokémon.

When the battle was over, I noticed a glowing coming from my bag. I opened it up and looked inside where the light was brighter. I reached inside and took out the source; one of my pokéballs. I released the clasp and saw that inside was the Magikarp I had captured yesterday. She flopped around the room, lighting up all of the surrounding trees. Finally, the light was so intense that I had to look away. After a few seconds, I looked back and saw that the little Magikarp had evolved into a giant Gyarados! She roared victoriously at her successful evolution. I planned to go to the Eterna city condominiums to alter her name. I didn't think that Mo was awfully fitting for such a magnificent creature. I would change it to Saphira, after a powerful dragon I had read about in a book.

As I walked out of the gym, a boy walked up to me. I had seen him in the window of the bike shop, currently closed. He asked me,

"Are you going into the Galactic Eterna building?" I answered yes, wondering why he had asked. He warned me, "Don't, because the bike shop manager's son went in there to get a pokémon that they stole and he didn't come out. The last thing we want around here is another missing person. Like that kid down in Jubilife city, Team Galactic kidnapped him as well. I wonder where that girl that went looking for him in now."

I grimaced. If only he knew that I was the girl that went looking for Lucas. Not only that, but also Lucas was up in that building as well. That makes another person to rescue, but this time an innocent civilian? That only made the undying flame in my heart, that was my hate for Team Galactic, burn even brighter. I walked up to the building, cut down the trees in front, and walked right inside. I immediately turned around and headed back to the pokémon center, remembering I hadn't refreshed since before the gym battle. After a visit to the pokémon center, I headed back into the Galactic Eterna building.


	9. Chapter 9: Galactic Eterna Building

Chapter 9: Galactic Eterna Building

I battled my way to the upper story, often having to dodge grunts in order to avoid unnecessary battles. I snuck behind employees at computers and behind boxes to avoid guards. I got caught once or twice, but I usually silenced the witness with a swift pokémon battle. I arrived at the fourth floor to find exactly what I had come for.

Lucas and the bike shop manager's son were tied up and leaning against the opposite wall. Lucas's blue eyes lighted up at the sight of me. The other boy also looked happy at my arrival, even though he had no clue who I was. I began to run across the room, but I stopped short as the elevator doors on my right opened. A woman with pink hair tied up in a bun walked in. She too was wearing a Team Galactic uniform.

"Hey!" she barked, noticing me "You're not supposed to be up here!" She looked over at Lucas and the bike shop manager's son, then back to me. "Oh, right. You're here to rescue them," she realized. "Mars said you would probably come. You gave her quite a bit of trouble back at the Valley Windworks. I'm Jupiter, and I challenge you to a pokémon battle!"

Great.

She sent out a Zubat, it blindly looping around the room since it didn't have eyes. I defeated it with no trouble. But then, she sent out a pokémon I had never seen before. It was a Skuntank, a skunk-like pokémon. It was a little tougher, the stench made it difficult to concentrate. I noticed that Fabio was looking a little light-headed, so I switched out to Cole. He was a few levels lower Fabio, but not that much. It was another victory for the side of good. Once Jupiter was defeated, she angrily said,

"Fine! You win, but I'm taking this one!" she grabbed Lucas and headed for an elevator.

_No! I will not let this happen again!_

Infuriated, I screamed "LET HIM GO!" and ran at her. I jumped in the air and prepared an aerial kick. I had no training in martial arts, but seeing it in movies and performed by Stan a thousand times made it look easy.

Unexpectedly, she held out her hand and caught my foot in mid-kick. She swung around and threw me in the opposite direction, using the momentum of my own attack to send me sprawling across the room. I landed on the cold, hard floor with a thud.

"I know the deal little girl, if you give us professor Rowan's research, we'll give you your friend. Ta!" She entered the elevator with Lucas. The doors closed with the ring of a bell just as I turned around.

"You there! Yeah you!" shouted Jupiter as she stepped out of the elevator. She was shouting at one of the grunts that worked in the pokémon packaging room. She dragged Lucas up to him and dropped him at his feet. "Get this kid in a box, on a truck, and to headquarters now! We're evacuating the building!" She walked out the door into the trucking yard, jumped in her own pink car and drove through the Veilstone city tunnel. Another grunt walked up to Lucas.

"Do you think we should give him the sleeping pill?" she requested.

"No, it would take too much time to go into effect. Just put him in a box and on the next truck."

"Hey! We need a size 5-A over here!" She ran off into another room and came back carrying a large box. She placed in on the ground next to Lucas and helped the other grunt lift him up and into the box. He glanced up as they closed the box, overlapping the flaps instead of just taping them like usual. Almost immediately, he was lifted up and placed elsewhere, waiting to get on a truck. He leaned against the thick wall of the box, a tear rolling down his face.

_It's too late. They're going to take me to their headquarters and then they'll find my pokédex in my pocket. What do I do now?_


	10. Chapter 10: Redemption

Chapter 10: Redemption

Brokenheartedly, I walked over to the bike shop manager's son and untied him. He thanked me and told me to come visit him later in the bike shop. I walked out of the building, but instead of leaving the property, I wandered around back. My sadness from before was replaced with rage. I angrily kicked a rock. It flew through a bush, but instead of rustling like normal bushes do, it sounded a metallic CLANG!

_Wait a minute. Bushes don't go clang!_

I walked over to the bush in curiosity and looked through. Concealed by the bush was an old door. It was rusty, and there was a faded Team Galactic logo on it. It looked like it was an unused exit or entrance to a secret base. I pushed and it slowly creaked open into a tunnel. Peering inside, I could see a dim light shining from the distant end. Rumbling noises and faint voices echoed down the passage. I walked down the long, twisting hallway, leading downwards until I came to a dimly lit trucking yard.

Crates were stacked up to the ceiling. Team Galactic personnel were in every imaginable place, getting in trucks by the dozen and driving away.

_They're probably evacuating. At least they won't bother the citizens of Eterna city anymore._

I tiptoed along behind boxes, looking around for a trace of Lucas or the much needed pokédex. There were two tunnels on the East side of the room with signs over them. One read 'Waterfall' and the other read 'Team Galactic headquarters, Veilstone city'. All of the trucks were headed in the Veilstone city tunnel.

"For Pete's sake! Why do we have to drag this kid everywhere with us?"

"Well we're not just going to leave him here! We need that data, remember?" another snapped. I whipped around and saw two grunts hoisting a large box onto a truck. As soon as they left, I dashed for the truck. I entered the back of the truck and opened the newly placed box.

Inside was none other than Lucas.

He looked up at me, his eyes wide in surprise and fear. Hurriedly, he blurted out,

"Quick! My pokédex! It's in my pocket, get it!" It was unnatural how quickly I reacted, almost like I was waiting for him to tell me. I reached into his pocket and grasped his pokédex. I pulled it out, and once he saw I had it, he said, "Now get out of here!"

"But what about you?" I asked in protest, straining hard to keep my voice from cracking.

"All that matters is getting that away from Team Galactic. Now go!" I looked at him one last time.

His eyes were determined, not afraid of the incredible danger he was in. But there was some sadness within the blue abyss. I could tell that another part of him was screaming to come with me, to be free. But he was being brave, he was putting other's safety before his own, and for that I honored him.

I closed the lid and jumped out of the truck just as it started. I hid behind some boxes and watched as the doors on the truck were closed and it drove through the Veilstone city tunnel.

I sat down, still holding the pokédex. I stared at it, nothing better to do. The final truck drove away, and the room was silent. The grumble of the trucks echoed down the long tunnel, it's gates now closed and locked.

_I was so close to him, I was right next to him. And I couldn't do anything. The data is safe, but that's not enough. I need to get to Veilstone city. I wonder how far away that is. How long is this going to take?_

After a few minutes of thinking, I looked at the map I had gotten from Stan. Following the path I had taken, I found where I was and where Veilstone city was. To get there, I had to get through Mt. Coronet. The closest way was just east of town. I headed over there, but found a huge boulder blocked it. I could have moved it if I had the ability to use the move strength outside of battle. But I would only be able to do that when I beat the Canalave city gym. That was too far away to wait for. Rechecking my map, I found the other way was south and the quickest route is to take the biking road. But I didn't have a bike, not yet at least.

The bike shop in Eterna city is the only one in the whole Sinnoh region. I headed down there and talked to the bike shop manager, and to my surprise, he gave me a bike! It was a thank-you gift for saving his son, and perhaps a pity gift. On my new mount, I sped away on the bike trail. I exited right outside of Oreburgh city. I turned east and headed straight to the other side of Mt. Coronet.

Mt. Coronet is the largest mountain in the Sinnoh region. The inside of it is even more intimidating than the outside. I entered the dark, spooky cavern with only a dim light guiding me. I reached the midway point; I could see the exit over a rock. I started to walk up the stairs, but a blue and haired man stood in the way.

He was looking around at the ceiling, holding a clipboard and writing down notes. When he noticed me, he lay down his clipboard and sat down upon a boulder, inviting to sit and hear about what he was researching. He told me of some of the folklore of Mt. Coronet, like the story of spear pillar. The story goes, when one possesses the magical object, the red chain, they can summon the legendary pokémon Dialga to do their bidding. However, the red chain takes an unimaginable amount of energy to create it. I listened attentively, even though I wished he would move out of the way. He said he was a scientist, and he was trying to get to spear pillar for research. He was hoping to find some ancient inscriptions to help tell him about early Sinnoh. When he was finally finished with his lecture, he left the way I came.

_Okay, that was weird. _

I continued on my way and exited the cave, coming to the outside part of route 208, which has numerous of cliffs and deadly falls. I kept to the center of the path, away from the treacherous edges. After crossing a raging river and field of tall grass, I went through the gateway building to Hearthome city.


	11. Chapter 11: Arrival

Chapter 11: Arrival

Hearthome city is the home of the contest hall and Amity Square. It had a charming feel to it, but I had something else on my mind. Not feeling in the mood for a contest or a stroll, I headed over to the less popular chapel. The chapel in Hearthome city is the only place in the whole region that practices a real religion, so most of the people in Hearthome city follow the religion (whatever they worship, I have no clue). It wasn't a Sunday, so the sanctuary was completely empty. The peace gave me time to think and reflect.

_I have come all the way from Twinleaf town to Hearthome city. That's a feat not many can accomplish. I lived here when I was three, and I am so glad I moved. I never would have met Stan or professor Rowan or Lucas… oh Lucas. I may never see him again. But not until I reach Veilstone city. It's not that much further, I have to keep moving! _

I exited and went over to the Hearthome condominiums. The building itself wasn't as new as the rest of the city. It was a large, brick factory that had converted into living space. Long, winding vines of ivy climbed all the way up to the highest of the windows. I got a room there for a night. My pokémon, and I, deserved a good rest. The room's ceiling was cracked into long, twisted lines that crossed each other, creating hidden pictures. I stared at the ceiling as I slowly fell into a troubled sleep.

The truck rumbled along in the tunnel for what seemed like hours. Lucas tried to get some sleep, but every time the truck drove over a bump, he would jolt back awake. Finally, the truck came to a stop. Lucas heard as the back of the truck was opened and he was lifted out. The whole floor seemed to shiver slightly below him with the squeaking of wheels as he was pushed on a luggage cart. They traveled for a few minutes, going up elevators and around sharp corners. Eventually, they came to a stop.

"Delivery for Cyrus from the Galactic Eterna building!" called out the one that was pushing the cart. The box was lifted from the cart and placed upon the floor.

"Get that Brenna," said a deep, almost emotionless voice.

_Cyrus? Oh no! Not the boss!_

"What on earth could be in a box of this size?" wondered a female voice. Seconds later, the top of the box was opened and a young woman looked inside. She wore glasses and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes bulged at the sight of a boy tied up and sitting in a box. Lucas looked up at her with a terrified stare.

"Um, sir? I think you should come see this," she said breathlessly, turning her back on Lucas. A man walked over from across the room. He had blue, spiky hair and he had an annoyed look on his face. He leaned over and looked into the box with his assistant. A cruel smile broke out over his face.

"Oh yes, the little hostage," he laughed. Lucas cowered in the corner of his box. "We have a place all set for you." He turned to his assistant. "Call in some people and tell them to put him in the dungeon, in the room where Saturn is working." He stood up and walked away.

_The dungeon? Great._

The assistant loosely closed the flaps of the box and walked away. She picked up the phone at her desk and punched in a few numbers.

"Please send a few people up here, we need them to move… something… thank you." She put the phone back on its hook. Lucas sat there, trying to listen for anything going on outside. After a few minutes, the door opened and two grunts walked in. The secretary got up from her desk and walked over to them.

"Have you two heard the story about the boy that was kidnapped down in Jubilife city?" asked the assistant.

"Duh. It's the only thing that anyone talks about these days," answered another female voice.

"They say that he was headed here eventually, since the two commanders were defeated by some annoying girl," another voice added, this time male.

"Well, he's in that box over there, and Cyrus wanted someone to take him to the dungeon…" said the assistant, trailing off.

"No way! Really?" exclaimed the two grunts excitedly. They ran over to the box and ripped open the flaps, causing poor Lucas to shrink back even farther into his corner.

"Stop it! You're scaring him!" cried the secretary, tearing the other two away from the box.

"Who cares? We have to get him to the dungeon, right? Well that's our job, and we don't have to care about anything else. So butt out Brenna!" exclaimed the girl grunt, pushing the secretary away.

"All right kid, up you go," said the boy grunt, lifting Lucas out of the box by his shoulders. He placed his feet upon the floor, but Lucas promptly fell onto his knees. His feet had been tied together for so long, he almost forgot how to stand.

"They tied his feet together? Oh for Pete's sake!" complained the girl grunt, reaching into her bag. She took out a compact object and flipped it open, exposing the blade of a knife. Lucas looked at the shining silver blade in terror. But he relaxed a bit when she kneeled down to cut the ropes binding his legs. For the first time in what seemed like forever, his legs were free. But that didn't change the situation.

"All right, up," the grunt commanded, lifting Lucas onto his feet and pushing him across the room. Lucas stumbled a little but managed to stay upright this time. The three of them walked over to a warp panel that lay on the other side of the room.

"There's only room for one, so I'll go first. Then you push the kid through and I'll grab him," said the girl grunt. The other one shrugged. She gave him a funny look and stepped backwards into the warp panel. It looked like she turned into a million tiny particles that sank to the panel and disappeared to somewhere else.

"Okay, your turn," said the grunt, pushing Lucas forward onto the warp panel. But Lucas tripped on his own feet and fell forwards into the portal. The sensation only lasted for a moment, but it kept him frozen in mid-fall. The second he reformed, he fell the rest of the way to the cold, stone floor.

"Stupid kid," mumbled the grunt, picking up Lucas and putting him on his feet again. A second later, the other grunt appeared in the warp panel to join them.

They had been warped to a dim corridor that led through rows of objects floating in glass cases. The three of them walked down this hall in a single file parade with Lucas in the middle. They marched past scientists that were writing on clipboards, inspecting the objects in the tanks. A few stole a glance at Lucas as the parade proceeded past, their eyes widening in wonder. He hung his head in shame as he walked by.

After turning a corner and walking down another hallway, they came to a small room. Inside, there was a machine that looked like it had just been put together. The greasy spare parts were scattered the floor along with several blueprints. There was also a young man in the room. He looked much younger than the other two commanders, but he still had the same intimidating essence as the other two. However, he seemed to be a little more laidback and open. His hair was blue and was fashioned into two points that swooped together in the middle. He glanced over to see who had interrupted him as he wiped the oil off his hands.

"We have something for you Saturn," said the girl grunt, grabbing Lucas and swinging him in front of her. Lucas looked up from the ground to see Saturn staring at him with a confused look.

"So this is the kid that they made me put this machine together for," he remarked, throwing the towel to the ground and walking over to inspect Lucas. "Hmph. He doesn't look like the type that would need one of these. Whatever, lets get it on," he scoffed, gesturing at the machine. Each of the grunts behind Lucas grabbed one of his shoulders and pushed him forward. They turned him around so he was facing the door. Saturn kneeled down and grabbed a shiny metal cuff. He placed it upon Lucas's left ankle and closed it with a click.

The two grunts kept holding Lucas until Saturn turned the machine on. It shuddered, rumbled for a moment, and then sprang to life. All of the lights turned on and started blinking and the buzzers blaring their alarms in it's own way of saying "I'm alive!" A lime-colored string of electricity flickered to life, connecting the cuff on Lucas's leg to the side of the machine. The two grunts released his shoulders and cut the ropes that bound his hands for so long. Lucas slumped against the wall and sat down on the floor. The three adults stood back to see Lucas's reaction as if appreciating their handiwork.

Lucas's hand found it's way down to his ankle and met the cool cuff. It was loose on his ankle, but there were no notches or anything that could've been used for getting it off. The string of electricity was cool to the touch, but it was sturdy like a chain. He tugged at it, but it jerked to a stop when the slack was used up and the rope was held taut between his hand and the machine. It appeared that nothing could break it.

That was when bitter realization washed over Lucas. He had been backed into a corner. There was no possible way he could get out of this. The only way that he could get free now would be if professor Rowan surrendered the data. Even Willow couldn't manage to sneak in there and free him, unless by some miracle. There was no way out.

"No," he muttered in disbelief. "No no no!"

_This isn't happening! But… but it is happening. But it can't!_

"No!" he cried up to the ceiling. The other three seemed amused by his pain. Suddenly, Lucas leapt from his seat on the floor and charged at the people standing in front of him. They jumped back in surprise and fear. He tried desperately to hit them, to try and cause them pain. But as soon as he had gone about two meters, the rope got taut again and kept him back. He stood as far forward as he possibly could, his leg limping behind. His hands were clenched into fists, challenging the others to come forward.

"I think we better go with the other ankle cuff and the wrist restraints too," Saturn suggested to the other two. They nodded and came forward, grabbing Lucas's arms and dragging him back and pinning him to the wall. He struggled against their grip, but it was too tight. Saturn grabbed one large cuff and two smaller ones. He put them onto Lucas's other ankle and his two wrists. As soon as they had been snapped shut, another string of electricity appeared. When all of the cuffs had been put in place, all three of them jumped back.

Lucas charged forward again, but this time he stopped short. The electric chains kept him close to the machine so he couldn't go up and hurt them. He heaved against the electricity ropes, trying to snap them like some sort of superhero.

"You two should go back and file a report on this," Saturn said to the grunts. They nodded and left the room. Saturn began to leave the room, but he turned back for a moment to see what Lucas was doing. Lucas struggled against the ropes in a screaming rage.

_What do you think you're doing? You'll never break these ropes. You might as well give up._

Lucas stopped yelling and let his arms drop to his sides. He staggered backwards and sat back against the wall. He pulled his legs up to his chest and began to cry into his knees. His entire body shuddered from his heaving sobs. Saturn smiled a cold smile and shut the door on his way out.


	12. Chapter 12: Darn you TV

Chapter 12: Darn You TV

p

p

The next morning, I headed down to the dining room where I received a free breakfast. I covered my plate with a pile of food large enough to feed two. I was starving! I took my meal and began to walk towards the tables on the other side of the room. Only a few people were sitting over there. Most of the guests were gathered around the television in the lobby area.

p

_ISinnoh Net/I_ was on, telling about the news from all the way across the whole region. I stood behind the couch, getting a clear view of the screen. I held my plate in one hand, my fork in the other, and began to eat. Some people sitting before me briefly turned around to see who had come, but then turned back, uninterested. Several unimportant stories came on, like about the blackout in Sunyshore city. It was so far away, by the time I got there, it would probably already be repaired. The reporters rambled on as I ate through my mound of provisions. I was nearly finished and ready to leave when the reporter announced something that caused me to snap to attention.

_p_

_I"And now, we're here with Lisa Amano with Galactic watch."/I_ I stopped eating and put my plate on a side table. I put both my hands on the back of the couch and leaned forward. I didn't want to miss a second of this.

p

_I"Thank you Jeff. I'm here outside of Lucas Brough's house reporting about how young Lucas was kidnapped a few weeks ago right outside of our station In Jubilife city. He was held ransom by two members of Team Galactic. The price of his return was for research about the evolution of pokémon, conducted by professor Rowan. I have the professor here with me right now for an interview." /I_The camera shifted and fell upon professor Rowan himself. It made my heart feel heavy to be reminded of the terrible reason I was way out here.

p

_I"Professor, were you ever going to consider giving your research to Team Galactic for the return of Lucas?"_

_p_

"_I hate to think about it, but if the situation gets out of control, then yes, I would indeed exchange my information for Lucas's freedom. However, I would only use it as a last resort, for the data I have gathered tells about how excess energy can be harvested from the evolution of a pokémon. You and I both know that Team Galactic is hungry for power, and giving them access to that power could be a grave mistake. However, I have an apprentice of mine out searching for Lucas. I'm hoping that Willow will be able to bring Lucas home without having to give my research to Team Galactic."_

_p_

"_Thank you for that professor"/I _The camera turned back to the reporter_. I"Willow, the one searching for Lucas, is estimated to be around Hearthome city at this time. If anyone has any information on her location, please call Jubilife TV at…"/I _But I didn't get to hear the rest. My picture flashed on the screen. A mirror hung over the television, giving the viewers a perfect view of anyone behind them and the screen. I was in plain sight of the entire groupgathered around the TV. I could see the audience's eyes dart from my reflection in the mirror, to the picture on the screen and back again. Every single person there turned around to stare at me in disbelief. I stood there nervously as the crowd gawked at me, almost as if they were trying to make out if I were real or not. In a split second, everyone around the couch sprung up and came at me.

p.

I shot for the door, being perused by the advancing crowd. I ran past the check-in desk, the clerk looking at me in a way that said 'What have you done to get yourself in this much trouble?' I took my key card out of my pocket and flung it at him, saying, "Thanks for the stay! I gotta go!" as fast as I possibly could. I burst through the door into the blinding sunlight. I sprinted across the street, still followed by the crowd.

p

As I raced down the street, I saw the last person I expected to see way out here. Stan was walking across the street to the pokémart when he saw me. He stared in disbelieving shock, only moving when I grabbed him by the arm and told him to run. We continued to rush down the street.

p

"Just like old times, right?" he laughed.

p

"Well, kind of. Most of the time when we get in trouble, we aren't pursued by a large crowd of people!" I half shouted back.

p

"Now what are we going to do?" he asked. I looked around.

p

"Quick! In here!" We ran into an alley, hoping that the crowd would stop chasing us. They didn't. Suddenly, we came to a dead end. The advancing crowd turned the corner and made their way across the dim passage. I knew that they didn't want to hurt me; I just didn't feel like submitting myself to the media world.

p

"Yep, lets go in here and get cornered. Great plan Willow!" Stan said sarcastically.

p

"Well, I didn't see you coming up with any bright ideas. Help me find a way out!" I looked around for a way out. Using my surroundings, I came up with a way to escape. I kicked over some empty trashcans, slowing down the advancing line of people. I climbed up several crates until I was nearly four meters above the crowd, followed by Stan. The crowd had appeared to have grown. Some people that were curious to see what was going on probably had joined. I ran across the top of the boxes and jumped. I flew through the air over the advancing group below. I reached out my hand, and at the last second, grabbed the edge of a fire escape. I dangled there, thinking to myself,

_p_

_IWay to go, stupid. Now what are you going to do?_ /I

p

"Smart Willow! Very smart!" Stan shouted, mockery in his voice. I hung there for a few seconds, then, summoning all of my strength, I pulled my leg up onto the platform, using it to pull the rest of my body up.

p

"Come on! Jump!" I shouted back to him. He tried to leap, but someone had grabbed his ankle. He struggled to get free, but the man holding him had a tight grip.

p

"Go! I'll be fine!" Stan shouted up to me.

p

"But–"

p

"Go!"

p

I turned and followed his orders. I climbed the stairs all the way up to the top of the building. I ran on the rooftops, leaping across alleyways and staying away from windows. Far away from the condos, I climbed down another fire escape and headed out of Hearthome city once and for all.

p

p

I headed off to route 209. It was cut in half by many a river, but many bridges took care of that problem. I avoided everyone there, fearing they would give information about where I was going. I hoped Stan was all right, even though I knew that ordinary civilians wouldn't do anything impulsive. I was just sorry I had dragged him into that mess. Well, he did take karate, so he would be fine.

p

A large tower loomed over the route, giving it an eerie touch. The inside of the tower was even spookier than the outside. Gravestones made a maze to the top. I weaved along, constantly being attacked by ghost type pokémon. When I got to the top, I met two elderly ladies, one of which gave me HM05 strength.

p

The view from up there was spectacular. I could see all the way I had come until Mt. Coronet to the west. It towered over everything else in the region. I could see all of Hearthome city. It looked much bigger from up high. And to the east, an even better view. I could see all the way over to Sunyshore city, way over on the east coast. The church-like pokémon league building sat on top of misty cliffs in the distance. The Pastoria city marsh stood out like a stain on a white shirt. It was just a giant brown spot contrasting the surrounding forest green. But the best thing about the view was Veilstone city. It was closer than all of the other cities, signaling that my journey there was almost over. I descended the tower back out onto the sunny road and continued on my quest.

p

p


	13. Chapter 13: A Friend Lost

Chapter 13: A Friend lost

p

p

Lucas woke up the next morning to the door opening again. Saturn had entered the room carrying a tray of food. Lucas leapt to his feet and kept his cuffed hands in fists. He had suddenly remembered what happened the night before.

p

"Sheesh! Calm down, I'm just bringing you breakfast," said Saturn, walking into the room. He set the tray down a few feet away from Lucas and backed up. Lucas stared blankly at the tray. There were two dark loaves of bread and a jug of water with no cups to drink it with.

p

"You don't have to eat if you don't want to, but that's your food for the day, so make it last." Saturn backed out of the room and shut the door, leaving Lucas alone again. He crawled forward and slid the tray back to the wall next to him, leaving it untouched. He hugged his knees to his body and stared at the wall across the room. That was when he saw it. There was a slanted rectangle of light on the opposite wall that had dark stripes down it. It looked like there was light shining through a barred window.

_p_

_IWhere could that be coming from?/I_

p

Lucas stood up and turned around, scanning the wall for the source of the light. There was a small, rectangular window that was placed right above where he was sitting. He walked up and tried to look through it, but it was a few feet higher than he could see. Lucas reached up and grabbed the bars, pulling himself up until he could see out the tiny window.

p

Apparently, the dungeon wasn't underground. From his view out the window, Lucas was looking down on the trucking yard and most of the Galactic storage. If he leaned to the right and looked left, he could see the Veilstone department store and the very tip of a tower in the distance. If he leaned all the way to the left and looked to the right, he could see the ocean extending far beyond his sight. And right in the center of everything was route 215. It was cloaked with rain clouds and fog, preventing him from seeing any further than the outskirts of the city. He stared at his new view for a few seconds, taking in all of the information that needed to be processed. He reached his hand through the bars until the rope pulled taught again. His hand was turned upward, as if begging for freedom.

p

"Hey! Get away from that!" Lucas immediately turned around dropped down to the floor, sitting back in his normal position. Saturn had entered the room again. "You're not allowed to go near that, understand?" he commanded in a stern voice.

_p_

_IAnd how are you going to stop me?/I_

p

"There's someone here to see you, so…" murmured Saturn, taking out a remote and holding down a button. As the button was held down, the electric ropes gradually grew shorter, restricting Lucas's movement. When the length had been cut down to nearly a foot and a half, Saturn released the button.

p

"There, now we won't have anything like last night's little outburst, eh?" Lucas had returned to his normal, cowardly self again. He trembled in the corner, awaiting whoever had come to see him.

p

"And your visitor…" said Saturn, stepping out of the doorway to expose Cyrus with a cruel smile on his face. A shiver ran down Lucas's spine. Cyrus strolled up to Lucas until he was only a few feet away.

p

"So, you're the one that's caused me so much trouble," he snarled. Lucas cowered in his corner. "But don't worry, as soon as your little friend turns up with the information, you can go."

p

Lucas clenched his eyes shut, trying to keep out the nasty thoughts.

p

"However, I'm coming up with a new way to get the power we need," said Cyrus. Lucas looked up in a panic. "There have been rumors about three pokémon that live at the bottom of the three lakes of Sinnoh. They apparently posses a great amount of power, power that I need. I just have to somehow coax them out of their underwater lairs, and they're mine. So it looks like I don't even need professor Rowan's research after all."

p

Lucas looked up at him, wide-eyed.

p

"Unless you tell me about Rowan's research. If you tell me everything you know, then I'll let you go."

p

Lucas didn't say anything.

p

"Hey! I asked you a question!" Cyrus demanded, kicking Lucas in the side.

p

"Nothing. I know nothing," Lucas whimpered, curling up tighter.

p

"Why not?!" Cyrus shouted.

p

Lucas squeezed his eyes shut, staying silent. He couldn't let Team Galactic have that power, no matter the consequence.

p

"Are you not professor Rowan's assistant!? Why don't you know anything!?" roared Cyrus. "I don't care if you spend the rest of your puny life here!"

p

Cyrus walked angrily out of the room, leaving Lucas stunned.

_p_

_INo, no, I have to get out of here. Somehow. But… but he said that… oh, oh no. No no no no!/I_

p

Lucas buried his head in his knees again, holding back tears. He choked on upcoming sobs. Suddenly, something touched him on his shoulder. He looked over and saw that Saturn was squatting down next to him.

p

"I… I'm sorry. You've been through so much, and I didn't care to think how you feel. You must be scared to death. What Cyrus just said, even I don't agree with it. Things are going to be different between you and me."

p

He stood up and walked to the machine that Lucas was attached to. He started pressing buttons and typing words with the keyboard. Suddenly, there was a beeping noise and three of the electric ropes disappeared. As soon as they were gone, the cuffs came undone and fell to the ground.

p

"There. Give you a little more freedom." Saturn looked over to Lucas. He seemed stunned, and yet thankful. He reached up and rubbed his wrists, getting the circulation going again. Lucas looked up to Saturn and breathlessly said "Thank you."

p

Saturn smiled and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. It felt satisfying to do something decent for once. He turned around to go down the hall, but someone was waiting for him.

p

"Cyrus! What are you still doing here?" he squeaked in surprise and terror.

p

"Eavesdropping," Cyrus replied angrily, squinting his eyes.

p

"H–how much did you hear?"

p

"All of it!" Suddenly, Cyrus came forward and struck Saturn across the face. He staggered back and fell to the ground, holding up a hand to block any more blows that may have been coming. Blood dripped from his nose and onto the floor.

p

"I don't want you showing any sympathy towards anybody, especially not him!" he roared down at him. Saturn cowered against the wall.

p

"H–he's only a kid, sir."

p

"Enough!" he yelled again, kicking Saturn in the stomach. He grunted and fell all the way to the floor.

p

"You have violated the Galactic law! And this isn't the first time! By all rights, I should fire you!"

p

"P–please, sir. I–I didn't mean to…"

p

"To what!? Disobey me!?"

p

Saturn lay on the floor, shivering, his breathing ragged from the attack. Cyrus looked disdainfully down on the pathetic scrap of a person that cowered before him.

p

"Pack your things," he snarled, walking down the hallway. He smiled a wicked smile, because he knew that their entire fight had been within perfect earshot of a certain boy that sat bound to a machine, just in the other room.

p

p


	14. Chapter 14: At Last

Chapter 14: At last

p

p

I arrived at Solaceon town with several aching muscles. I had ran all the way out of Hearthome city, climbed up the lost tower, and hadn't sat down since I got up that morning. I plopped down on a bench and looked around, taking in my surroundings. The town may be tiny, but it's still large enough for a pokémon center and a pokémart. An old couple managed a pokémon day care that leveled up your pokémon while you were elsewhere.

p

There were also these creepy ruins on the east side of town that were full of Unown. They all looked like different letters, each with one, unblinking eye. I registered one in my pokédex and left with haste. It felt like they were staring into my soul.

p

Route 210 was overgrown with grass just crawling with pokémon. The grass was so long, I couldn't use my bike because the grass got tangled in the spokes and I had to walk. The middle of the route had the café cabin; a small building that serves Moomoo milk. I bought a bottle and tried to continue north to route 211, but a group of Psyduck stood in the way. They looked like they had terrible headaches. I tried to move them, but they wouldn't budge. But then I remembered that if I were even capable of going that way, it would take me in a complete circle, back to Eterna city. Veilstone city was in the opposite direction.

p

I headed east to route 215 to find that it was absolutely pouring. Immediately, I thought about turning back and staying in the cabin, but them I thought about Lucas, and that was enough to keep me going. I trudged through the rain, mood falling as quickly as the raindrops around me. I hiked over high bridges, jumped off small ledges, and eventually got stuck in the mud. It was so overgrown that the route itself was like a natural maze. I was feeling pretty discouraged, and it wasn't helping that lightning was starting to strike at the ground. When one bolt of lightning hit a nearby tree and caused it to fall over, I decided that I needed to find shelter.

p

Just off of the path was an outcropping of rock, creating a small cave. I hid there, savoring the dryness of the cave. I regretted not staying at that cozy café cabin for a few more hours. The lightning nipped at the ground repeatedly, lighting up the dark cave. Just then, a Pichu burst from the grass by the cave and ran inside, shaking off its wet fur once it was safely inside. When it was done drying itself off, it looked at me with a questioning look. I glanced at it before continuing to watch the rain fall outside. It started to groom itself, wetting its tiny paws and running them over its mud-caked body. It was feeling kind of awkward for me to be there with the Pichu, almost like I was there with another human.

p

"You won't judge me, right?" I asked it, breaking the silence. It looked at me funnily before continuing to groom itself. "You see, I have a bit of a dilemma on my hands," I began, pulling my knees up close to my body. And so I began to tell the little Pichu about my journey across the region, and all the things that had happened along the way. This little moment of intimacy with a complete stranger brought out a strange feeling inside of me I had never felt before.

p

"So, as you know, Veilstone city is just at the end of this route. When I get there, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I don't think I can just walk into the building, but I'm not sure I can sneak in either. Even though he's right there, he's so far away." I paused a moment, taking in my own words. I wasn't sure if I should say what was going through my head, but this little pokémon wasn't going to tell anyone anything, so I went ahead and blurted it out.

p

"He's so far away, but for some reason, I've never felt closer to him. Do you know what this feeling is?"

p

At that moment, the Pichu snuggled up next to me and closed its eyes, trying to take a nap. That one action was enough of an answer for me.

p

Me and the Pichu sat under that rock outcrop for what seemed like hours, even though only about fifteen minutes had past before the rain stopped and the clouds lightened. I really didn't want to disturb the Pichu in its nap, not after the understanding it had shown me. But I needed to continue on my way to Veilstone city. Lucky for me, I didn't have to wake it up. Minutes after the rain stopped, a group of Pichu wandered by. The Pichu next to me noticed them and ran off to join in the group, chasing them around playfully. When the posse had moved on, I decided that I had to be on my way too. I stood up and continued to walk down the route.

p

As I made my way towards Veilstone city, I noticed something about route 215. I heard that the rain never stopped there, but the sun was shining brightly now. Pokémon of all types had emerged from their burrows and were enjoying the warm weather. They were frolicking around, knocking the newly fallen raindrops from the leaves around them. Everything was peaceful and relaxed, like nothing bad was going on in the world. Then I realized that my journey through this route was almost trying to say something. At first, it was stormy and fierce, just like the situation I was in now. Lucas was being taken prisoner by Team Galactic, and I felt lost and confused in this giant, dark, swirling storm around me. But then the sun came out, and everything seemed clear. Would that maybe mean that everything would be all right?

p

My theoretical thinking was making me feel better about the whole situation I was in. But my mood skyrocketed when I emerged from route 215 and entered Veilstone city, destination of that Team Galactic truck containing Lucas. The time had come, or so I thought

p

p

Veilstone city gave me the creeps. All of the stonewalls gave the illusion that they were closing in on me. There was a casino in the southern area of town where people could gamble. My mom had always told me that people could lose all of their money at the slots in a wink of an eye, so I avoided it. I rushed to the pokémon center to restore, then over to the Galactic storage building. I tried to get in, but there were two guards in the way. Go figure. Team Galactic probably doesn't want kids snooping around in their storage building. I went and thought for a while.

_p_

_IMaybe I can sneak in at night when they're off duty, or maybe I can creep in behind them when it's dark/I _I thought to myself. To kill time, I went shopping at the Veilstone department store. The place was huge! It had everything you could ever want and more. After spending most of my savings, I went to the Veilstone gym.

p

It was a fighting type gym, so I didn't have to worry about any of Fabio's weaknesses. But I did have an advantage since fighting-type pokémon are weak to flying- type moves like peck. I moved hurdles until I finally had a clear path to Maylene, and then had a battle that I won in no time. I now had the cobble badge, allowing me to use HM02 fly. If only I had it. I exited, inspecting my new gym badge, when suddenly, who of all people bump into me, Stan. He seemed kind of frantic.

p

"Willow! Boy, am I glad to see you. I need your help, I dropped my pokédex and Team Galactic found it. They won't give it back! Professor Rowan will be really mad if he finds out I lost it. You have to help me get it!" he explained so quickly, I could barley figure out what he was saying. He ran off in the direction of the storage. I followed.

_p_

_IIf they won't release a hostage, what makes you think that they'll give your pokédex back?/I_ I thought to myself, sprinting after Stan. I had a habit of talking to people that couldn't hear me. I often gave advice in my head to people in movies. Anyway, back on topic.

p

He finally came to a stop at the grunts standing outside of the Galactic storage. Stan demanded his pokédex back, and when they refused, he sent out his Grotle, the evolved form of Turtwig. I sent out Fabio as well, and had a vicious double battle. Two heads are better than one after all. After victory over the grunts, they ran inside. The cowards. Stan got his pokédex back, no doubt about it.

_p_

_IWell, at least he got his pokédex back./I_

p

p

We headed to the food court and caught up on things. First off, Stan asked,

p

"So, you never did tell me why you were being chased by a mob of people through Hearthome city." I grinned sheepishly. I told him about my entire adventure since Jubilife city. I told him how I defeated Mars at the Valley Windworks, but failed to rescue Lucas. Then I told about how I got into the Galactic Eterna building, battled to save him again, won, but still failed to free him. Then I told how I was behind the building, found the door to the trucking dock and got the pokédex from Lucas. I also told him about why I was chased through the streets of Hearthome city.

p

"I was staying in these condos in Hearthome city. Then I got breakfast and was watching the news. This story came on about Team Galactic and Lucas and all of that, but they showed a picture of me. But then, here's the best part, everyone in the room leapt up and started casing me."

p

"Yeah, but why did you run?" Stan wondered.

p

"Well, I didn't want to tell my story all over again. I'm having a hard enough time dealing with this in the first place. I didn't want any of this to happen."

p

"Of course you didn't, but it did happen, and we're just going to have to deal with it."

p

"What happened after I left you anyway?"

p

"Oh, nothing much. After you climbed up the fire escape, they brought me back down to the ground. All these reporters started asking me questions. I tried to run away again, but they backed me into a corner."

p

"What kinds of questions did they ask?"

p

"Just things like 'how do you know Willow?' and 'where do you think Lucas is now?' mostly things you would have been able to answer. I said 'I don't know' most of the time, just to make sure they didn't follow you."

p

"Thanks, that's going to be really helpful."

p

"What are friends for?" I smiled. He had finally paid me back for all of the times he needed help. But I stopped smiling when I looked over at the Veilstone building. Its menacing look gave the entire city a dismal feel. Through the windows, I thought I could see figures moving around.

p

"What happened on that TV show anyway?"

p

"What? Oh yeah, the news story. Well, there was this reporter in Sandgem town interviewing professor Rowan. He said that if things get worse, he might give Team Galactic his research."

p

"But he can't do that! Not after how far you've come"

p

"Yeah, but how am I going to break into the Galactic Veilstone building?"

p

"Why are you going in there?"

p

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" so I told him about how the truck with Lucas in it was headed for Veilstone city, and that I thought that maybe Lucas was being held there. I told him my plan to break into the storage and get into the Galactic Veilstone building that way. There were rumors about a secret underground tunnel that connected the two buildings. Stan was amazed. Apparently, he hadn't had any adventures as thrilling as mine, besides of course when I ran into him at Hearthome city. After talking for a while, Stan wished me good luck and left. I was surprised he was talking so slowly. I could even understand him! Maybe he was a little down, Lucas getting kidnapped and all. It had been fun relaxing and talking for a while, but it was time to continue on with my mission


	15. Chapter 15: Promises, Promises

Chapter 15: Promises, Promises

p

p

Late that night, I crept behind the Veilstone department store. Checking to see that the coast was clear, I snuck into the Galactic storage. Galactic storage was the only way in. There was a large fence surrounding the huge building on the hill. A guard stood by the fence, making sure no one got past him. If I could just get to that tunnel, I might not have to deal with him. I dodged a grunt by running behind a crate. I sat there and waited for him to pass, but then I noticed something beside me. It was HM02 fly! _Sweet!_ I thought, dropping it into my bag. They obviously weren't using it, so I took it off their hands.

p

I ran and hid all the way through the storage. I came to a rusty door that said 'Tunnel to headquarters', my way inside. I walked up to it and tried to push it open, but it was locked. I threw my weight against the door. It still wouldn't budge. Again and again I threw myself at the door, tears streaming down my face. I knew it wouldn't move, but I just wanted to get my anger out. After severely bruising my shoulder, I exited the storage, relishing the pain. After finding a corner to sulk in, I sat down and started beating myself up.

_p_

_IYou idiot! Of course it's locked! Why on earth did you think that you could actually save Lucas from the clutches of Team Galactic? It's so widespread and powerful. Even if you could get in there, you would easily be defeated. You couldn't beat a… a…/I_

p

But then I thought,

_p_

_II have defeated many things. I defeated two Team Galactic commanders, three gym leaders, and countless other trainers just like me, but not as determined._ _There is hope; all I have to do is get stronger, much stronger_./I

p

I kept saying encouraging things to myself, and I eventually found myself asleep on the ground.

p

p

p

p

Lucas couldn't sleep that night. The only thing that was on his mind was the fight that had happened the day before. He tossed and turned, every line going through his head.

_p_

_IIt looks like I don't need professor Rowan's research after all…/I_

p

A boom echoed throughout the building, like someone throwing a large object at a metal wall.

_p_

_II don't care if you spend the rest of your puny life here!/I_

p

Another boom.

_p_

_IThings are going to be different between you and me…/I_

p

Boom.

_p_

_II don't want you showing any sympathy towards anybody, especially not him!/I_

p

Boom.

_p_

_IP–please, sir. I–I didn't mean to…/I_

p

Boom.

_p_

_IPack your things…/I_

p

Silence.

p

p

The next morning, a stranger walked into the room with Lucas's food for the day. She was taller than Saturn, and she had blond, wavy hair that hung around her shoulders.

p

"Good morning," she said with the kind of cruel smile you get from someone trying to trick you into trusting them. "Did you sleep well?"

p

Lucas didn't say anything, just stared at her blankly. She set the tray of food down and backed up without taking the smile off her face. "I'm Venus, and I'll be your watch from now on."

p

"Where's Saturn?" Lucas blurted out. He didn't mean to say it aloud; it just popped out. He didn't even know why he asked; he knew where he was. The smile on Venus's face dropped.

p

"I'm afraid that Saturn has…left us," she answered, the evil smile returning on 'left'. She chuckled a little. Lucas buried his face in his knees again, trying to block out her words. Saturn had been the only person that had bothered to show him some friendship, and now he was gone.

p

"Did you hear that mysterious banging last night? It kept me from sleep," said Venus. "I heard from the guards that it was your friend Willow, trying to break in."

p

Lucas looked up in shock at Willow's name.

_p_

_IWillow? Could it really be?/I_

p

"She was throwing herself against the door into storage, trying to get in, but after a while, she gave up and left. No has seen her since."

p

And on that note, Venus left.

_p_

_INo, Willow no! You can't give up! You have to save me! No!/I_

p

And like so many times before, he began to cry. He had been crying so much lately, he was exhausted.

_p_

_IThis isn't like you Willow. Why did you give up?/I_

p

He lay down on the floor and looked up at the ceiling. Dust particles floated in the ray of sunlight that came from the window.

_p_

_IYou're my only hope./I_

p

p

p

p

I woke up the next morning to the sun in my eyes. I remembered what happened last night and almost began to cry again, but I stopped myself. I recalled everything I had said to myself to feel better, and it worked. The only way to save Lucas was to get more power, and the only way to do that is to battle other trainers. There were still five more gyms to beat, so I headed to the nearest one, the one in Pastoria city. Before walking through the gate, I took one last look behind me at Veilstone city. The Galactic building loomed there like a sinister memory.

_p_

_II will find you Lucas/I_

p

I thought to myself, and maybe somebody else.

_p_

_II promise./I_


	16. For a Continuation

Okay, I am really struggling to figure out how this website works. I dunno, I just find it confusing. I got locked out my account for a couple months and if anyone is still following this, sorry about keeping you in the dark.

The good news is, you can read the whole thing, beginning to end, right now! That's right, and all you have to do is go to this link here!

.com/gallery/#Pokemon-Fanfic

It doesn't have a name there either. I don't think it ever will.

While you're there, you can check out some of my other pokemon-related stuff too! Hope to see you there!

EDIT: MAN THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT

Instructions: Go to deviantart. Put the name modern-day-magic before 'deviantart'. That should take you to my homepage.

Please please please let it work this time.


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